Chapter 5: The Crown's First Spark
The Crown of Gravity wasn't a physical crown, thankfully. Adama had enough trouble keeping his superhero identity a secret without having to explain why a toddler was constantly wearing a tiara. Instead, it was an intrinsic part of him, a subtle hum behind his thoughts, a constant awareness of the invisible forces that governed the world. He'd spent years passively sensing it, a faint potential waiting to be unleashed.
He was now a boisterous, curious toddler, a miniature version of Tony in his boundless energy, but with Pepper's underlying calm. He and Morgan were inseparable, a dynamic duo of pint-sized mischief and budding genius. Their current mission, as far as they were concerned, was to dismantle every single toy in their playroom to understand how it worked.
Today's target: a bright red, remote-controlled sports car, a gift from Tony that was probably more advanced than most real cars. Morgan was meticulously unscrewing the back panel with a tiny screwdriver she'd "borrowed" from Tony's lab. Adama, meanwhile, was attempting to make it fly.
"Come on, little car," he muttered, his brow furrowed in concentration, his tiny hands hovering over the toy. He focused, pushing his nascent will into the Crown of Gravity. He'd felt glimmers of its power before, a faint tug on a dropped spoon, a slight wobble in a stack of blocks. But he'd never truly activated it.
He wanted it to fly. He wanted it to soar across the room, to defy the very laws of physics that Tony so meticulously adhered to. He pushed harder, a frustrated grunt escaping his lips as the car remained stubbornly on the floor.
"It's not working, Adama," Morgan said, ever the pragmatist, looking up from her screwdriver. "Maybe it needs more power. Did Daddy put in the right battery?"
"No, it's not the battery!" Adama insisted, a flash of childish frustration sparking his determination. He closed his eyes, focusing all his energy, all his will, on the little red car. He imagined it lifting, floating, defying gravity. He pictured the invisible force pulling it upwards.
Then, a faint hum, a vibration that resonated deep within him. The toy car, with a barely perceptible shiver, lifted off the carpet.
Adama's eyes snapped open. The car was floating! A foot off the ground, then two, then three. It wobbled precariously, a tiny red beacon of defiance.
"Morgan! Look!" he shrieked, a triumphant laugh bubbling up from his chest.
Morgan's eyes widened, her screwdriver clattering to the floor. Her jaw dropped, a perfect miniature imitation of her father's shocked expression. "Whoa! How did you do that?!"
Adama, emboldened by his success, tried to make it go higher. He pushed too hard, too fast. The invisible force he was wielding surged, uncontrolled. The car shot upwards, slammed into the ceiling with a muffled thud, and then, with a sharp crack, ricocheted off the wall, tumbling to the floor in a shower of plastic pieces.
Silence.
Adama stared at the wreckage, his triumphant grin slowly fading, replaced by a look of wide-eyed horror. Morgan, however, didn't look scared. She looked… amazed.
"Do it again!" she whispered, her eyes shining with a mixture of awe and mischievous delight. "That was amazing! You made it fly! You have… magic!"
Adama looked at her, then back at the broken car. A small, sheepish smile touched his lips. "Yeah," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Yeah, I guess I do."
He felt a familiar, crisp ping in his mind.
[System Message] Crown of Gravity Activated: First Use. Mastery: 1%
It was a small start. A broken toy car. But it was a start. And in Morgan's wide, fascinated eyes, Adama saw not fear, but a shared wonder. This wasn't just his secret anymore. This was their secret. And he knew, with a certainty that settled deep in his new, young heart, that this was just the beginning.